Pantaneiro
(most common name)

(local/other name):
• Crioulo pantaneiro
• Cuiabano (from Cuiabá River)
• Tucara
• Tucura (popular name for stunted cattle)
• Swamp criollo

The Pantaneiro, a variety of the Brazilian Crioulo, can be found in the northern part of the Pantanal region (a very extensive seasonally flooded inland river delta) in the southwest of the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil in the Paraguay river valley, close to the Bolivian border.

Pantaneiro are heat tolerant and extremely well-adapted swamp cattle and are the same ecotype as the Chaco Criollo of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

The Nelore is also well adapted to the same area and is now the dominant breed. 23% of the Pantaneiro genome is of Nelore origin (Issa et al., 2006). The Pantaneiro genome also shows a high degree of allelic richness (like other Brazilian Criollo cattle). Allelic richness means they have a high number of alleles which is a measure of genetic diversity representing a population’s long-term potential for adaptability and persistence.

The Pantaneiro has adapted to long periods of flooding, very high temperatures and humidity; they also produce twice as many calves as the local zebu. This makes them economical for the area.

In 1984, a conservation herd of Pantaneiro was established. In 2016, another conservation herd was also established with the primary objective being to keep animals that fit the breed standard; they are conserved to minimize inbreeding but without selection for economic traits.

Pantaneiro milk is used to make Nicola cheese and its producers are working to get the Pantaneiro breed officially recognized by the Brazilian government in the hopes that this will aid in commercializing this cheese. Nicola cheese is used in regional dishes such as chipá (cheese bread), sopa Paraguaia (corn bread), and chipa guasu (corn cake).

(Portuguese) pantanal = marsh, wetlands
(Portuguese) pantano = swamp

This page was last updated on: 2024-04-14

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